


Sun, Moon and Darkness

by PrettyCalypso



Series: Prompts [9]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: AU, Fantasy Medieval-ish Universe, First meeting and first kiss, Ian and Mickey fall in love, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mentions of past abuse, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 02:31:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10844649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyCalypso/pseuds/PrettyCalypso
Summary: Based on this prompt:"Ian is a healer and he is called in a village for curing a Mandy who is sick. Her family doesn't have enough money to repay him, so he asks them to find him a guy who accepts to become his new apprentice or he will not cure her. Mickey offers himself as a volunteer. He will end to fall in love for Ian. (I thought about a fantasy universe where Ian is a magician expert on how cure people that why I written healer.)"





	Sun, Moon and Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I started writing this without having the prompt under my eyes, and I totally forgot about the part with Mickey being an apprentice. So this fic is like 80% of the prompt. Sorry, anon who sent it to me, I hope you still like it!
> 
> Also, there are mentions of mental illness in this fic, but, for many reasons, I decided not to name any specific disease at any moment, and I figure I could get away with it thanks to the fantasy-ish (let's say “medieval”) universe the story is set in. I'm always very careful when it comes to writing characters with mental illnesses, so I hope I did okay here.

 

The sun is setting behind the mountain as Ian makes his way across the meadow, the wild grass caressing his linen-covered legs with every new step. At this rhythm, he won't be able to reach the village in time, he will have to spend the night outside, sleeping on a bed of leaves. He's used to it, he's a nomad, a healer traveling from village to village where people need him, the only times he sleeps on a real mattress is when the village is rich enough to afford a guest tent, or hut, or when a villager has an extra bed available – but that usually means somebody in the family died because Ian didn't arrived in time, or his healing techniques weren't efficient.

 

He finds a little patch of forest, just outside the meadow, and gathers some wood to make a fire strong enough to last the entire night. He eats the last leaf of bread he has left from the previous village he worked in, and shapes his bundled belongings into a comfortable pillow, before laying down under a leafy tree. The tree is probably no older than Ian, but so much taller and stronger. The man looks up at the sky, trying to remember the name of the stars he can see from here. His older brother used to teach him that before he went off to the Capital, studying at the University among the wisest of the wises to become himself a respected member of the Elite Council. Ian hadn't wanted that path for himself – and was probably not smart enough for it anyway – so he chose to be close to the people instead. He likes to be useful, to feel useful, and being a healer does that to him. He doesn't have a home anymore, but he can read the recognition in the eyes of the people he helps, and it's enough, it makes him feel good, makes him forget the demons and the mistakes from his past. And every time his brain tries to play tricks on him, he looks up at the sky and tries to name as many stars as he can.

 

~~~

 

Mandy has been sick for a while now. Months, and months, maybe even years but Mickey isn't counting anymore. He tried everything he could, and he even took her away from home. Home, the tech city where everything is mindless and meaningless work until you die, feeling like an ant in the machine, or trading, game plays, and all kind of illegal activities that make you the scum of the scum, the dirt under the Elite Council's shoe, the rats who have infested the city, people the government has given up on. That's the universe Mickey has escaped, has taken Mandy away from, finding this peaceful village hidden in the hollow of the mountain, where people didn't ask questions, people that care if you let them, if you do your work and help the community survive. Mickey even finds himself sometimes going to the village's parties and celebrations, because he actually likes these people who have given him a shelter when he most needed one, and bring him soup and bread when Mandy is at her worse and Mickey won't leave her side. But in spite of the love and care, Mickey's sister isn't doing better, so when he heard one of the best healer of the country was around, Mickey sent a messenger to call for him. And the tiny bit of hope Mickey has that this man will heal his sister is precious, because soon hope will be a luxury he won't be able to afford anymore.

 

~~~

 

Ian wakes up with the sun, but he knows he's still late, he should have arrived at the village the night before, and now the sky is menacing, big dark clouds following the healer, ready to spill their load of rain on him. Ian walks faster, hoping to reach the village before the water comes pouring down the sky. He sees the first house, hidden behind the first peak of the mountain, just as a droplet of rain hits his elbow. And two minutes later, he is standing in the middle of the central square of the village, not knowing which door to knock on, and the rain pouring around him. He feels a little hand tugging on the fabric of his coat, and a small girl with dark skin takes his hand to lead him inside a warm house with food on the table and roaring flames in the fireplace. A woman, who appears to be the girl's mother, welcomes Ian with a warm smile. Her skin is darker than her daughter's, and her hair is twisted in a hundreds braids, all gathered together in a messy bun on top of her head.

 

“Are you the healer?” she asks Ian with a gentle voice, and the man nods. “Mickey is waiting for you, but before you go there, you should take a bath to warm you up. Give me your clothes, I'll dry them and find you something else to wear. Amy will show you to the bath room.”

 

Ian nods again, and strips to his underwear before following the little girl again, this time leading him into a small room on the side of the house, with walls made of stone, another lit fireplace, a small cabinet in the corner, and a large wooden tub in the middle. Amy grabs the large cauldron – at least twice her size – from where it was hanging above the fire, and pours its content – steaming water smelling of plants and flowers – into the tub, filling three quarters of it. She then hands Ian a soft folded towel she took from the cabinet, and leaves the room. The man gets rid of the last of his clothes and steps in the hot water. He hasn't washed in days, and this bath feels amazing. The temperature warms his bones frozen from the rain, the water cleans the dirt accumulated by his days of traveling, and the scent penetrates through his pores to settle on him for what is gonna be at least a couple of days. The bath is so relaxing and fantastic that Ian is sure he has fallen asleep. When he opens his eyes again, a pile of freshly folded clothes is waiting for him near the towel. He gets up and gets dressed. The pants fall on his hips, and the tunic is too large on his shoulders – the clothes surely belonging to a man taller and broader than him – but it feels good to be dry.

 

When he comes back into the main room, the woman tells him to sit at the table and gives him a bowl filled to the rim of what looks like rice pudding.

 

“Eat.” she orders. “And then Amy will show you to Mickey's house.”

 

Ian complies. From what he can see through the only window, it appears that the rain has stopped. It only rained when he was outside, that's just his luck. He sighs and finishes his pudding quickly. Amy is waiting for him by the door and ready to take him outside as soon as he sets his spoon back on the table. Ian doesn't have time to thank the woman for her hospitality, or ask for her name, that he's already walking through the streets behind Amy. The girl stops in front of one of the smallest habitation and points to a rusty wooden door.

 

“Mickey lives here.” she says – and Ian realizes it's the first time he hears her voice – before she's running back to her own house.

 

The healer knocks three times on the door, and only waits a few seconds for it to open. A short man with pale white skin and jet black hair looks at him with deep blue eyes under frown eyebrows.

 

“You're the healer?” he asks without a smile, and with an accent from the city. Ian nods. “You're late.”

 

The man steps aside, letting the healer in, and closes the door behind him. The main room is smaller than in the other house Ian has visited that day, and there are only two doors on the opposite wall.

 

“It's my sister who's sick.” the man explains, leading Ian to the door on the right, opening it to a small dark room in which Ian can barely distinguish a dresser, a chair, and a bed with a human form curled up on it. “Mandy.” the man whispers softly to the person on the bed. “The healer's here.”

 

The woman doesn't answer, and when the man turns back to Ian, his eyes are filled with sadness.

 

“She's been lying in bed for months now.” he says slowly. “She barely eats, and never speaks. Sometimes she just sleeps for days, sometimes she throws up the food I managed to feed her that day, and sometimes she wakes up shaking and sweating. I don't know what's up, she doesn't seem to get worse, just never better.”

 

Ian recognizes Mandy's symptoms immediately. He doesn't say so to her brother, but he sees himself in her, he knows the disease she suffers from can't be healed with plants, potions and medicine like all his other patients, her trouble is not physical, it's deeper than that, it's something in her mind telling her it's okay to shut off, maybe that life is even better that way, that it will end the suffering.

 

“How much do you want to be payed?” Mickey suddenly asks, interrupting Ian's train of thoughts.

 

“People usually just offer me room and board.” the healer answers, detaching his eyes from Mandy's lifeless body on the bed.

 

“I can give you food.” Mickey says, going back into the main room, followed closely by Ian. “But I don't have enough beds, so you'll have to stay at V's.”

 

“V?”

 

“The village's nurse and midwife. Her husband and her already have two kids, but they have a guest room she uses for birth and stuff. You can stay there, she's very nice and nurturing, she's like everybody's mother.”

 

Ian wonders if this “V” is the woman who gave him a bath and food, and who still has his clothes. He doesn't know, but he'll find out soon enough anyway.

 

“How long do you think you'll stay?” Mickey inquires, and Ian can hear worry in his voice.

 

“I'll stay as long as you need me here.”

 

******

 

The first few days Ian spends with her, Mandy ignores him. She doesn't drink the potions he prepares, she doesn't react when he talks to her, and she pushes him away when he tries to examine her body. He tries to tell her that he doesn't want to hurt her, or to take advantage of her, that he has absolutely no interested in seeing her naked except for medical purposes, but she doesn't seem to hear it.

 

Mickey, on the other hand, warms up to Ian pretty quickly. He's distant and worried at first, barely talks, but a few meals in, and the two men are exchanging stories about their lives. Meaningless stories, nothing too deep, but at least it makes each other's presence pleasant, and they even share some laughs.

 

~~~

 

Ian has been here for six days when Mickey asks him if he has made any progress with Mandy, if he knows what's wrong with her. Ian knows what it is, in the surface, he could name it, but he doesn't know how to heal it, not yet, not completely. He knows Mandy's situation and his are not exactly the same, but he also knows he could teach her how to fight it, how to feel better on an every day basis, but he doesn't have enough information yet, and Mandy doesn't seem to trust him, doesn't open up to him. So Ian knows he has to ask Mickey, even though it could be unpleasant for the other man.

 

“Did something happen?” he tries, gently. “You said she started to be like that about a year ago, did something happen just before?”

 

“I don't know.” Mickey shakes his head. “She was alive and well, she was never sick like this before. She was always bitchy and annoying, but you know how sisters are. And one day she didn't want to get out of bed. At first I thought it was because Mom had died, but it didn't seem like that, you know. She just cried all the time, it was getting on everybody's nerves, our brothers, our father... And like a week after it started, she got worse, she wasn't even crying anymore, just lying in bed, lifeless...” Mickey takes a shaky breath. “And Dad suddenly didn't care anymore, he stopped yelling at her to get out of bed, he told me she was just being an ungrateful bitch, like all women. And one night she crawled into bed with me, first time she left her room in weeks, she looked so scared, she was shaking, so I decided to try something, to take her away from the city, to have some fresh air and stuff, and we ended up here.”

 

Ian takes the story in, trying to figure out the missing details that would allow him to see a clear picture. Mickey is silent, and the healer knows there is something more, something he doesn't say, something Ian can't see, something he can only guess.

 

“Did you tell anybody where you were going? Or did you just want to take Mandy away from home, from your father?”

 

Mickey suddenly stands up, takes the dishes from the table and starts washing them, facing away from Ian. And the silence in itself is a statement to ask Ian to mind his own business, and the healer would have done just that, if he wasn't absolutely certain the Milkovich family life is related to Mandy's state. So he stands up too, walks to the woman's bedroom, and sits on the chair next to the bed. He sees the woman shiver and crawl away from him. He doesn't know if it's because she heard them talking, or just because of Ian's presence next to her.

 

“I won't touch you.” the healer assures her. “I promise I will never, _ever_ , touch you again without asking for your permission first, even if it's for health reasons.”

 

He feels the woman relax even so slightly.

 

“You need to drink the tea I make you though.” Ian adds. “It helps for sleeping, keeps the nightmares away. And you need to eat, to become stronger and fight back. Do you think you can do these two things?”

 

Mandy doesn't react, except for a quick blink of her eyes, and Ian knows he's made some progress.

 

~~~

 

V draws a warm bath for Ian every night, and has his clothes freshly washed for him every morning. She styles her braids in a different way everyday, and she trains her apprentice, Ethel – a young and shy teenage girl – with a firm hand but soft manners. Ian likes her, she reminds him of his older sister, Fiona, and he's sure that in another life, at another time, they could have been great friends. He likes her twin daughters too, Amy and Gemma, and he plays with them as often as he can, and her husband, Kev, whose not the smartest guy in the village, but who has such a big heart. Ian loves living with them more than he ever loved living with anybody else he met during his time as a nomad healer. But what he loves even more is to see Mickey every day, and to witness small, but significant, progress in Mandy's health.

 

~~~

 

Today is a hot, sunny day, and Ian has a plan. With V and Ethel's help, he prepares a basket full of food, and he borrows a blanket from his hosts. When he arrives at Mickey's house, he goes straight for Mandy's room, in which Mickey is finishing to help his sister dress – a daily requirement of the healer to which the siblings comply thoroughly.

 

“Good, you're both up.” Ian says with a smile. “We're going out today.”

 

“Out?” Mickey repeats, surprised. “What about Mandy?”

 

“She's coming with us.” Ian explains gently. “She hasn't left the house in months, and I think she's ready to enjoy some sun and fresh air. And today is the perfect day, right Mandy?”

 

The woman looks at Ian with wide eyes, but doesn't say anything – she usually only express herself with “yes” or “no” in front of the healer.

 

“Don't you want to go out Mandy?” Ian continues. “The valley is beautiful. And you don't have to walk or talk if you don't want to, I brought a blanket so you can just lay there and enjoy the light and the warmth of the sun.”

 

“Okay.” the woman articulates after a while, and it's Mickey's turn to look at her with wide eyes.

 

~~~

 

This healer is not like any other healer Mickey has ever met. He didn't give up after a week of Mandy ignoring him, on the contrary, he got even more invested. He never fed her numerous remedies or potions, except for the nightly tea to help her sleep. He talks to her all the time, even when Mandy doesn't answer – and she very rarely does. Mandy is filled with darkness, going deeper than Mickey can see, but Ian is a sun, warming her, lighting her slowly, and irradiating Mickey as well in his periphery. And today he even managed to take her outside. He didn't force her, or push her out of bed like some healers did before him, no, he prepared a picnic and asked her nicely, even gave her the possibility to just lie down once out in the meadow. And Mandy complied with what Mickey would dare to call 'joy'.

 

The three of them settle not too far from the village, in the valley, near a river, and under the shadow of a bicentennial tree. After eating – and Mandy did eat some of Ian's salad, a piece of bread, and half an apple – Mandy takes a nap on the blanket, and Ian decides to go swim in the river. He takes his clothes off, _entirely_ – to Mickey's surprise and, let's be honest, enjoyment – and jumps in the water. Mickey looks at him, looks at this mysterious man coming from a far off land to heal his sister jump in the water like a child, and he wants to join him. He wants to play, and relax. Mandy is safe under the tree, and today he saw her hint a smile for the first time in months. And Mickey wants to believe the hardest part is behind them, he wants to celebrate and enjoy the fresh water with Ian. So he does. He strips naked as well, and jumps in the river. It's way colder than he imagined, and he swears loudly, before checking he hasn't woken up his sister. Ian laughs at him, and sends a wave of water his way.

 

“What do you think you're doing?” Mickey spits with a raise of eyebrows.

 

“Making sure your body acclimates to the temperature.” Ian teases, splashing him some more.

 

And Mickey replies, sending them both in a childish fight made of cold water and pretend drowning, that ends when Mickey locks the healer's arms behind the man's back with one hand.

 

“What you're gonna do now?” Mickey smirks.

 

And he expects everything but Ian leaning in to kiss him. Mickey has kissed men before, back in the city he always found men to have sex with, and he even let some of them kiss him, but he hasn't been with anyone since he arrived at the village. And yes, he likes Ian, but he's his sister's healer, that's why he never tried to make a pass at him. His lips are so soft though, that Mickey wonders why they didn't do this sooner. But Ian mistakes Mickey's surprise for rejection, and pulls away quickly, shaking his head apologetically, and stepping aside.

 

“I'm sorry.” he stutters. “I didn't mean to... I'm sorry.”

 

“Don't be.” Mickey simply says, placing his right hand behind the healer's head, and bringing their lips together again.

 

Ian wraps his arms around Mickey to bring their bodies closer. And their tongues intertwine and dance together. Mickey can feel Ian's naked body react against his own. He wants to take this, all of this, further, but the image of his sister sleeping under the tree flashes into his brain. He parts away from Ian, still keeping a hand on the healer's cheek.

 

“We should get back to Mandy.” he says softly, and Ian nods.

 

“Yeah, we should.”

 

******

 

Ian can't stop thinking about Mickey, about his soft, plump lips, and about those lips against his own. He knows he should focus all of his attention on Mandy, that's who he's here for after all, and he does, he does focus on Mandy, and he knows the woman is getting better, but he wants to kiss Mickey again. He doesn't get to though, not for another week and half, when one night he comes back at V's only to find out that Anna, the carpenter's wife, is giving birth earlier than expected and is already settled on his bed – on the guest bed. V apologizes over and over again, but Ian just smiles, and tells her it's okay, because he really hopes it is, indeed, okay, when he knocks on Mickey's door for the second time that day.

 

“I thought you went back at V's for the night.” Mickey says, slightly surprised.

 

“I was.” Ian explains. “But they're quite busy back there: Anna is on my bed, giving birth early.”

 

“And they didn't need you, as a healer?”

 

“V seems to have the situation under control. And she knows where to find me if needed.”

 

“So you want to stay here?”

 

“Just for the night if it's okay. And I can sleep on the floor.”

 

Mickey seems to hesitate. He bites his lower lip and looks at Ian, then he looks at Mandy's closed bedroom door, at his own bedroom door, and back at Ian.

 

“It's fine.” he finally says. “You can stay here. But you're not sleeping on the floor.”

 

Mickey shows Ian to his bedroom, and the healer realizes in that moment that he's never seen it. It's similar to Mandy's, with very little furniture, and absolutely no sign of occupancy except for the small pile of clothing on the chair.

 

The first few minutes are awkward. Both men strip to their underwear in silence, avoiding each other's eyes and stealing quick glances. They lay on the bed, on their back, with a good amount of space between them.

 

“Good night.” Mickey suddenly says, and Ian can feel him move so that he's on the edge of the mattress, facing the wall.

 

“Good night.” Ian sighs, and closes his eyes.

 

But he can't sleep, not with Mickey so close to him, and he knows the other man doesn't sleep either, he can hear his irregular breathing in the silence of the room. He wants to kiss him again, to touch him, but he also doesn't want to be too forward, doesn't want to scare Mickey away. When Ian kissed him that first time, Mickey kissed him back, but ever since nothing has been happening between them, not even the slightest hint of another peck. So Ian turns on his side too, facing the other wall, and tries to find sleep.

 

~~~

 

When Mickey wakes up, the sun isn't up yet, but even in the darkness he can distinguish another human form in his bed, and most of all he can feel it – feel him. Somehow, during the night, Mickey ended up clutching at Ian, and the healer is now sprawled out in the middle of the bed with Mickey resting half on top of him. Ian moves, his head turning to the side, finding itself inches away from Mickey's, but he still looks asleep. Mickey breathes slowly and tries to detach himself from Ian without waking him up. It's the first time Mickey ever shared a bed with someone – except for Mandy, but that doesn't count. He never slept with any of the men he's been with: he couldn't bring them home, his dad would have killed him, and he never went to their place, it was too intimate. And here he is, sharing a bed with a man he hasn't even had sex with – not that he doesn't want to, because he really really does.

 

Ian emits a little sound, some sort of inaudible mumble, his eyes slowly blinking open, and Mickey realizes he has been staring. He tears his eyes away and sits against the headboard. Ian stretches his arms and smiles.

 

“Thank you for letting me sleep here.”

 

“No problem.”

 

Mickey's eyes look everywhere but at Ian.

 

“The sun is not up yet.” he adds. “You can go back to sleep.”

 

“Okay.” Ian simply says, and leans back against the pillow.

 

He's not closing his eyes though, and he looks straight at Mickey. And Mickey slides from his sitting position to lay on his side, facing Ian, and he looks at him, looks at his beautiful green eyes with blue and brown shades, at his faded freckles on his pale skin, and at his thin lips. And he kisses those lips, slow and tender at first, and then hungry and devouring. He trails his hands along Ian's warm body, under the thin layer of cotton covering his skin. He grips, he scratches, he tries to be gentle, but it's been too long and he wants Ian with every fiber of his body. When they part from the kiss to breathe again, Ian is still smiling, and Mickey can't help but do the same.

 

******

 

It takes 6 months for Mandy to heal, and even then she's not completely cured, she will never be. But at least now she lives again, she speaks again, she gets out of bed in the morning, she eats and she even laughs sometimes. Even though she has trouble leaving the house for long periods of time, Ian still knows it's the end of his job in this village, and Mickey knows it too. They don't talk about it, they just keep things as they are, when one day they find themselves alone in the house while Mandy is out buying food at the market.

 

“Thanks.” Mickey suddenly says, and Ian looks at him in surprise. “For Mandy.” Mickey explains. “I don't say it enough.”

 

Ian nods. _It's my job_ , he wants to say, but he doesn't because he knows it's more than that, so he just nods. Mickey knows.

 

They share a small silence before Mickey speaks again.

 

“Are you gonna leave now? Now that your job here is over?”

 

Ian smiles. He hasn't slept in the guest bed at V's house in so many nights he can't count them anymore, all of his clothes are neatly folded next to Mickey's in his dresser, and they eat every single meal together.

 

“No.” he just says. “I'm not leaving.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and/or comments. And you can also come talk and share with me on my [tumblr](http://ilostmylifeonline.tumblr.com/), it's always appreciated. :)
> 
> And if you want more info about my prompt writing schedule, it's [here](http://ilostmylifeonline.tumblr.com/post/160273182753/hello-faithful-fic-readers).


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